Current collectors are adequately known from the prior art and are regularly used on rail vehicles for transmitting electric energy from a power rail to the vehicle. Usually the power rail is arranged in the region of the traveling rails and is also designated as so called third rail. With the known current collectors a contact shoe is fastened to an arm, wherein the lever presses the contact shoe against a wiper contact surface of the power rail with a defined pressing-on force. The pressing-on force is generated by a pneumatic cylinder which is connected to the arm which it operates in the manner of a lever. Starting out from an unloaded end position of the arm the contact shoe is moved as far as to a stop or to a maximum wiper contact position upon actuation by the pneumatic cylinder subject to the generation of the pressing-on force. Without contact to a power rail the contact shoe is then located above a working position or a sliding contact position, which in the case of contacting of a power rail is formed. Because of this, possible horizontal spacing fluctuations of the power rail relative to the current collector or rail vehicle can be offset. Starting out from the end position, the arm is pushed back via the contact shoe through the moving of the contact shoe on to the power rail via a leading ramp, wherein the required pressing-on force is generated by the pneumatic piston and/or additional springs.
Contacting of a power rail described above can be effected with a contact shoe located under the power rail or a contact surface of the power rail on the one hand and with a contact shoe located above a power rail or a lower contact surface of the power rail on the other hand. Each of these cases is dependent on which power rail system is used in the respective rail section or rail network. If a rail vehicle is to change from a power rail system to another one it is necessary to convert the current collector. For example the sliding contact with its sliding contact surface for example has to be turned by 180° from a lower contact configuration into an upper contact configuration and a movement direction of the arm of the current collector reversed through appropriate conversion or actuation. Accordingly, changing a vehicle between power rail systems is time consuming and involves costs or requires at least a separate actuation of the current collector so that this change can be completed. In the case of the current collectors known from the prior art intervention in the function of the current collector is always required in all cases. This intervention is disadvantageous insofar as it impedes a quick change between power rail systems and thus traffic of rail vehicles across power rail systems.